Clothing Accessory for Customizing Leggings

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a clothing accessory for customizing a look of a legging without making permanent modifications to the legging. The accessory can be used to temporarily cover a hem of leg portions of the legging for customizing the look of the legging. The accessory is made of stretchable and flexible material and is in the form of a closed loop or band circular garment. In use, the clothing accessory is worn under the hem of the legging such that a portion extends out from under the hem and the extended portion is curled over the hem to cover an exterior portion of the hem to customize the look of the legging. The accessory comes in a variety of colors, sizes, and designs and can be interchangeably used with leggings to personalize the look of the leggings.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to, and the benefit of, U.S.Provisional Application No. 63/297,835, which was filed on Jan. 10,2022, and is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to the field of leggings andcustomization of leggings. More specifically, the present inventionrelates to a clothing accessory worn with leggings for customizing theleggings without making permanent modifications. The accessory is madeof stretchable material that allows the accessory to stay in place viatension. The accessory is configured to be worn under the hem of alegging and curled over the hem to create a customized legging. Theaccessory comes in different colors, styles, and designs. Accordingly,the present disclosure makes specific reference thereto. Nonetheless, itis to be appreciated that aspects of the present invention are alsoequally applicable to other like applications, devices, and methods ofmanufacture.

BACKGROUND

By way of background, pants or trousers are an article of clothing thatis worn from the waist to the ankles or to the calves, covering each legseparately. “Leggings”, “tights”, or “yoga pants” are a type ofform-fitting pants, often made of knitted cotton and spandex orelastane. Leggings provide comfort, durability, flexibility, andcoverage. Individuals, especially women, love to wear leggingsparticularly while going jogging, exercising at the gym, attending yogaclasses, etc, because leggings with stretchable fabric give superiorcomfort and flexibility. Women also wear leggings during travel,relaxation, and at home.

Leggings generally come in a single color and many leggings are nowavailable in different designs. However, achieving different styles withleggings by customizing them is difficult. For customizing leggings tomatch with various outfits and footwear, permanent modifications, suchas sewing a clothing accessory, for example, permanently shortening alength of the legging or sewing a design, are performed. As a commonexample, a designer clothing accessory is sewn along a portion(preferably near the hem) of the legging to customize the legging. Thepermanent modifications are not only difficult to incorporate but alsoeliminate the original design/look of the legging. Regaining theoriginal look of the leggings is not possible once the permanentmodifications are performed.

Therefore, for achieving different styles, many women buy multiple pairsof leggings, which is costly and requires more space to store theleggings. Further, even purchasing multiple pairs of leggings does notfulfill the requirements of personalization and customization ofleggings. Individuals desire a way, such as removably attaching anarticle of clothing, to temporarily customize their leggings in an easyand cost-effective manner.

Therefore, there exists a long-felt need in the art for an article ofclothing and a method that allow users to customize the look of theirleggings without making permanent modifications. There is also along-felt need in the art for an article of clothing and a method thatimproves and personalizes the look of leggings. Additionally, there is along-felt need in the art for a clothing accessory that can be used fortemporarily customizing any leggings. Moreover, there is a long-feltneed in the art for a clothing accessory that does not require sewing orpermanent attachment to a legging. Further, there is a long-felt need inthe art for a method of customizing the leggings in a cost-effective andconvenient manner. Furthermore, there is a long-felt need in the art fora clothing accessory that provides several different colors, styles, anddesigns to leggings. Finally, there is a long-felt need in the art for aclothing accessory that stays in place via tension to customize alegging with a different appearance without having to make permanentmodifications.

The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodimentthereof, comprises a decorative clothing accessory configured tocustomize leggings. The clothing accessory is removably fastened to ahem of a legging without sewing and further comprising a first surfaceand an opposing second surface, the first surface and the second surfacehaving a common top edge and a common bottom edge. The surfaces have acommon design for customizing leggings wherein the accessory is made ofa stretchable elastic form-fitting material, such as a blend of spandex,cotton, and polyester. The accessory is placed under a hem of a leggingsuch that a portion of the accessory extends below from the hem whereinthe extended portion is curled over the hem to cover the exteriorsurface of the hem to customize the legging.

In this manner, the legging customizing clothing accessory of thepresent invention accomplishes all of the foregoing objectives andprovides users with a stretchable and stylish accessory worn inconjunction with a pair of leggings. The clothing accessory utilizesflexible and stretchy material that can stay in place under and over thehem via tension to personalize the look of leggings without makingpermanent modifications. The accessory comes in a variety of colors andsizes to temporarily customize the look of the leggings.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basicunderstanding of some aspects of the disclosed innovation. This summaryis not an extensive overview, and it is not intended to identifykey/critical elements or to delineate the scope thereof. Its solepurpose is to present some general concepts in a simplified form as aprelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

The subject matter disclosed and claimed herein, in one embodimentthereof, comprises a stylish clothing accessory configured to customizeleggings. The clothing accessory further comprising a closed loop orband fabric garment, the garment having a first surface and an opposingsecond surface, the first surface and the second surface having a commontop edge and a common bottom edge, the surfaces have a common design forcustomizing leggings wherein the accessory is made of a stretchableelastic form-fitting material, such as a blend of spandex, cotton, andpolyester. The accessory is placed under the hem of a legging and iscurled over the hem to cover the exterior surface of the hem tocustomize the legging.

In yet another embodiment, the first surface and the second surface havedifferent designs.

In yet another embodiment, a method of customizing a look of the leggingwithout making permanent modifications to the legging is described. Themethod includes the steps of placing a clothing accessory under a hem ofeach leg portion of the legging such that a portion of the clothingaccessory hides under the hem and a remaining or exposed portion of theclothing accessory extends out of the hem; curling the remaining orexposed portion of the accessory over the hem to cover an exteriorsurface of the hem wherein the accessory is made of stretchable andflexible material to stick or affix to the hem without sliding to coverthe exterior surface of the hem such that the accessory is visible fromoutside, thereby customizing the look of the legging.

In yet another embodiment, the method further includes placing theclothing accessory under a hem while the legging is worn by a wearer.

In yet another embodiment, the method further includes placing theclothing accessory under the hem while the legging is not worn by awearer.

In yet another embodiment, a clothing accessory configured to be wornwith leggings for giving the leggings many different looks is disclosed.The clothing accessory is made from a flexible and stretchable materialand, in use, is placed under the hem of leg portions of the legging. Aportion of the accessory extending out from the hem is curled by a userover the hem to cover an exterior surface of the hem for customizing thelegging. The stretchable material of the accessory allows the accessoryhugging the hem to stay in place via tension and thereby preventssliding of the accessory.

In yet another embodiment, the clothing accessory comes in differentsizes, colors, and designs.

In yet another embodiment, the clothing accessory covers the interiorsurface and exterior surface of the hem of the legging for customizingthe look of the legging.

Numerous benefits and advantages of this invention will become apparentto those skilled in the art to which it pertains upon reading andunderstanding of the following detailed specification.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, certainillustrative aspects of the disclosed innovation are described herein inconnection with the following description and the annexed drawings.These aspects are indicative, however, of but a few of the various waysin which the principles disclosed herein can be employed and areintended to include all such aspects and their equivalents. Otheradvantages and novel features will become apparent from the followingdetailed description when considered in conjunction with the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The description refers to provided drawings in which similar referencecharacters refer to similar parts throughout the different views, and inwhich:

FIG. 1 illustrates a perspective view of one potential embodiment of thelegging clothing accessory of the present invention in accordance withthe disclosed architecture;

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view showing the clothing accessorybeing worn under a legging prior to curling over the hem in accordancewith the disclosed architecture;

FIG. 2B illustrates a perspective view showing the clothing accessorybeing curled over the hem to customize the legging in accordance withthe disclosed architecture;

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the leggings being customizedusing the customizing accessory of the present invention in accordancewith the disclosed architecture;

FIG. 4 illustrates a planar view of another embodiment of the leggingcustomization accessory of the present invention in accordance with thedisclosed architecture; and

FIG. 5 illustrates a wearer wearing the legging customized with thelegging hem accessory in accordance with the disclosed architecture.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION

The innovation is now described with reference to the drawings, whereinlike reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout.In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerousspecific details are set forth in order to provide a thoroughunderstanding thereof. It may be evident, however, that the innovationcan be practiced without these specific details. In other instances,well-known structures and devices are shown in block diagram form inorder to facilitate a description thereof. Various embodiments arediscussed hereinafter. It should be noted that the figures are describedonly to facilitate the description of the embodiments. They are notintended as an exhaustive description of the invention and do not limitthe scope of the invention. Additionally, an illustrated embodiment neednot have all the aspects or advantages shown. Thus, in otherembodiments, any of the features described herein from differentembodiments may be combined.

As noted above, there exists a long-felt need in the art for an articleof clothing and a method that allows users to customize the look oftheir leggings without making permanent modifications. There is also along-felt need in the art for an article of clothing and a method thatimproves and personalizes the look of leggings. Additionally, there is along-felt need in the art for a clothing accessory that can be used fortemporarily customizing any leggings. Moreover, there is a long-feltneed in the art for a clothing accessory that does not require sewing orpermanent attachment to a legging. Further, there is a long-felt need inthe art for a method of customizing the leggings in a cost-effective andconvenient manner. Furthermore, there is a long-felt need in the art fora clothing accessory that provides several different colors, styles, anddesigns to leggings. Finally, there is a long-felt need in the art for aclothing accessory that stays in place via tension to customize alegging with a different appearance without having to make permanentmodifications.

The present invention, in one exemplary embodiment, is a method oftemporarily customizing the look of a legging. The method includes thesteps of placing a hem clothing accessory under a hem of each legportion of the legging such that a portion of the clothing accessoryhides under the hem and a remaining or exposed portion of the clothingaccessory extends out of the hem; curling the remaining or exposedportion of the accessory over the hem to cover an exterior surface ofthe hem wherein the accessory sticks to the hem to cover the exteriorsurface of the hem such that the accessory is visible from the outside,thereby customizing the look of the legging.

Referring initially to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates a perspectiveview of one potential embodiment of the legging clothing accessory ofthe present invention in accordance with the disclosed architecture. Thelegging clothing accessory 100 of the present invention is made of astretchable elastic form fitting material, such as a blend of spandex,cotton, polyester, and other clothing material. More specifically, theclothing accessory 100 is in the form of a closed loop or band that canbe applied to a hem of the legging and is placed around the hem viatension. The accessory 100 has a first surface 102 and an opposingsecond surface 104 wherein the first surface 102 and the second surface104 have a common top seam 106 and a common bottom seam 108. The firstsurface 102 and the second surface 104 may have a common design 110 oralternatively may have different designs printed on them. It is to beappreciated that the hem of the legging can be positioned generallyproximal to the ankle, or proximal to the calf area, of the wearer ofthe leggings.

The clothing accessory 100 is sewn along a sewn edge 112 to form aclosed loop or band and may have a width or height from about 2″ toabout 8″, in another embodiment from about 2″ to 6″, and yet stillanother embodiment from about 3″ to about 5″. The legging customizationclothing 100 is configured to be placed partially under the hem of alegging and a remaining or exposed portion is stretched over the hemsuch that the remaining or exposed portion is visually exposed from theoutside to give a customized look to the legging as described in detaillater in the disclosure. The clothing accessory 100 when applied to thelegging is held in place via tension and the accessory 100 conforms tothe shape of the hem of the legging. The accessory 100 can be availablein different colors, styles, and designs for accommodating differentfashion styles.

FIG. 2A illustrates a perspective view showing the clothing accessory100 being worn under a legging prior to curling over the hem inaccordance with the disclosed architecture. The legging clothingaccessory 100 is designed to temporarily customize and personalize alegging 200 without requiring any sewing or permanent attachment of theaccessory 100 to the legging 200. As illustrated, for using theaccessory 100 to customize the legging 200, the accessory 100 isseparately placed under the separate legs 202, 204 of the legging 200such that a first portion 114 of the accessory 100 is placed under thehem 206, 208 of the legging legs 202, 204, respectively. The hem 206,208 of the legging legs 202, 204 can be positioned proximal to an ankle209 of the wearer. The accessories 100 placed under legs 202, 204 can beof the same design or different designs as per preferences of a wearer.The first portion 114 of the accessory 100 is hidden under the leggings200 and is not visible from the outside. The accessory 100 is placedsuch that a second portion (remaining or exposed portion) 116 of theaccessory 100 extends out from the legging legs 202, 204. It should benoted that either the first surface 102 or the second surface 104 cantouch or contact the interior surface of the legs 202, 204 when theaccessory 100 is placed under the hems.

FIG. 2B illustrates a perspective view showing the clothing accessory100 being curled over the hem to customize the legging in accordancewith the disclosed architecture. For customizing the legging 200, thesecond (remaining) portion 116 of the accessory 100 is held by a userand is curled over the hem 208 to cover an external surface 210 of thehem 208. The stretchable fabric of the accessory 100 allows theaccessory 100 to cover the hem 208 in a stable manner using the force oftension without impacting the shape of the hem 208. The first portion114 and the second portion 116 conform to the hem and are placed insideand outside of the hem 208, respectively. In a similar manner, theaccessory 100 is worn on the other leg to fully customize the look ofthe leggings as per the preference of the wearer. In use, oppositesurfaces of the accessory 100 cover the interior surface and exteriorsurface of the hem. It is to be appreciated that the hem of the legginglegs can be positioned proximal to a calf 211 of the wearer based on thelength of the legs 202, 204 of the legging 200.

The size of the first portion 114 and the second portion 116 can bedecided by a wearer as per preferences and when the accessory 100 is notrequired, the accessory 100 can be removed from under the legging 200and may also be replaced with an accessory of another design or fabric.

The accessory 100 can be placed under a leg 202, 204 of the legging 200with the legging 200 being worn by the wearer. The accessory 100 haselastic and stretchable properties and therefore, does not slide ortighten when worn by a wearer. The second portion 116 includes an outersurface portion 117 and an inner surface portion 119.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of the leggings being customizedusing the customizing accessory 100 of the present invention inaccordance with the disclosed architecture. As illustrated, theaccessory 100 is curled over the hems 206, 208 of the legging legs 202,204 such that the remaining or exposed portion 116 covers the externalsurfaces 210, 302 of the hems of the legs 202, 204 such that the initialouter surface portion 117 is pulled upward over hems 206, 208 of thelegs 202, 204, wherein the inner surface portion 119 becomes the outersurface that is visually exposed from the outside and therefore,provides a customized look to the leggings. In other words, the secondportion 116 is turned inside out.

The width of the accessory 100 can be customized so as to cover adesired portion of the hem. The accessory 100 can be available innumerous styles, colors, sizes, and designs to accommodate virtually anyuser desire and preferences. Further, the accessory 100 can be folded atany length to make the hidden (first) portion 114 and the exposed(second) portion 116 of any desired width.

FIG. 4 illustrates a planar view of another embodiment of the leggingcustomization accessory of the present invention in accordance with thedisclosed architecture. In the present embodiment, the accessory 400includes an embroidery design 402 printed on both sides. The accessory400 forms a closed loop or band like the other embodiments of thepresent invention and can be placed under the hem and curled over thehem to cover the exterior surface for customizing a legging.

FIG. 5 illustrates a wearer wearing the legging customized with thelegging hem accessory 400 in accordance with the disclosed architecture.A wearer 500 can wear the legging 502 personalized with the accessory400 worn on the hem of both the legs 504, 506 of the legging 502. Theaccessory 400 is removably attached to the legging 502 and can beinterchangeably used on other leggings and can also be replaced withclothing accessories of different designs and fabric.

It should be appreciated that the clothing accessory of variousembodiments of the present invention allows users to customize the lookof their leggings without making permanent modifications. The accessoryis washable, stretchable and can have a customized width and size.

Certain terms are used throughout the following description and claimsto refer to particular features or components. As one skilled in the artwill appreciate, different persons may refer to the same feature orcomponent by different names. This document does not intend todistinguish between components or features that differ in name but notstructure or function. As used herein “legging hem accessory”, “clothingaccessory”, “legging clothing accessory”, “accessory”, and “leggingcustomization accessory” are interchangeable and refer to the removablyattached clothing accessory 100 of the present invention for customizingleggings.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, the removably attached clothing accessory100 of the present invention can be of any suitable size andconfiguration as is known in the art without affecting the overallconcept of the invention, provided that it accomplishes the above-statedobjectives. One of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that theremovably attached clothing accessory 100 as shown in the FIGS. are forillustrative purposes only, and that many other sizes and shapes of theremovably attached clothing accessory 100 are well within the scope ofthe present disclosure. Although the dimensions of the removablyattached clothing accessory 100 are important design parameters for userconvenience, the removably attached clothing accessory 100 may be of anysize that ensures optimal performance during use and/or that suits theuser's needs and/or preferences.

Various modifications and additions can be made to the exemplaryembodiments discussed without departing from the scope of the presentinvention. While the embodiments described above refer to particularfeatures, the scope of this invention also includes embodiments havingdifferent combinations of features and embodiments that do not includeall of the described features. Accordingly, the scope of the presentinvention is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications,and variations as fall within the scope of the claims, together with allequivalents thereof.

What has been described above includes examples of the claimed subjectmatter. It is, of course, not possible to describe every conceivablecombination of components or methodologies for purposes of describingthe claimed subject matter, but one of ordinary skill in the art mayrecognize that many further combinations and permutations of the claimedsubject matter are possible. Accordingly, the claimed subject matter isintended to embrace all such alterations, modifications and variationsthat fall within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.Furthermore, to the extent that the term “includes” is used in eitherthe detailed description or the claims, such term is intended to beinclusive in a manner similar to the term “comprising” as “comprising”is interpreted when employed as a transitional word in a claim.

What is claimed is:
 1. A legging clothing accessory comprising: a firststretchable elastic band having a first surface and an opposing secondsurface for applying to a hem of a legging; a top seam; a bottom seam;wherein said first surface comprises a first decorative design; whereinsaid second surface comprises a second decorative design; wherein saidfirst decorative design is the same as said second decorative design;wherein said first stretchable elastic band comprises a first portionpositioned under the hem of the legging and a second portion extendingbelow the hem of the legging; and further wherein said second portion isturned inside out to expose an initial inner surface portion to an outersurface portion.
 2. The legging clothing accessory of claim 1, furthercomprising a second stretchable elastic band having a first surface andan opposing second surface for applying to another hem of the legging.3. The legging clothing accessory of claim 2, wherein said first surfaceof said second stretchable elastic band comprises a third decorativedesign and said second surface of said second stretchable elastic bandcomprises a fourth decorative design.
 4. The legging clothing accessoryof claim 3, wherein said third decorative design is the same as saidfourth decorative design.
 5. The legging clothing accessory of claim 3,wherein said second decorative design is the same as said fourthdecorative design.
 6. The legging clothing accessory of claim 3, whereinsaid second decorative design is different from said fourth decorativedesign.
 7. The legging clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein said firststretchable elastic band and said second stretchable elastic bandcomprise a height from about 2 inches to about 8 inches.
 8. The leggingclothing accessory of claim 7, wherein said first stretchable elasticband and said second stretchable elastic band comprise a materialselected from a group consisting of a spandex, a cotton, and apolyester.
 9. The legging clothing accessory of claim 1, wherein saidfirst stretchable elastic band and said second stretchable elastic bandcomprise a height from about 3 inches to about 5 inches.
 10. The leggingclothing accessory of claim 9, wherein said first stretchable elasticband and said second stretchable elastic band comprise a materialselected from a group consisting of a spandex, a cotton, and apolyester.
 11. A legging clothing accessory comprising: a first elasticband having a first surface and an opposing second surface for applyingto a hem of a legging; a second elastic band having a first surface andan opposing second surface for applying to another hem of the legging;wherein said first surface of said first elastic band comprises a firstdecorative design and said second surface of said first elastic bandcomprises a second decorative design; wherein said first surface of saidsecond elastic band comprises a third decorative design and said secondsurface of said second elastic band comprises a fourth decorativedesign; wherein said first decorative design is the same as said seconddecorative design; wherein said third decorative design is the same assaid fourth decorative design; wherein each said first elastic band andsaid second elastic band comprise a first portion positioned under thehem of the legging and a second portion extending below the hem of thelegging; and further wherein each said second portion is turned insideout to expose an initial inner surface portion to an outer surfaceportion.
 12. The legging clothing accessory of claim 11, wherein saidfirst decorative design is the same as said third decorative design. 13.The legging clothing accessory of claim 11, wherein said seconddecorative design is the same as said fourth decorative design.
 14. Thelegging clothing accessory of claim 11, wherein said first decorativedesign is different from said third decorative design.
 15. The leggingclothing accessory of claim 11, wherein said second decorative design isdifferent from said fourth decorative design.
 16. The legging clothingaccessory of claim 11, wherein said first elastic band and said secondelastic band comprise a height from about 2 inches to about 8 inches.17. The legging clothing accessory of claim 16, wherein said firstelastic band and said second elastic band comprise a material selectedfrom a group consisting of a spandex, a cotton, and a polyester.
 18. Alegging clothing accessory comprising: a first elastic band having afirst surface and an opposing second surface for applying to a hem of alegging; a second elastic band having a first surface and an opposingsecond surface for applying to another hem of the legging; wherein saidfirst surface of said first elastic band comprises a first decorativedesign and said second surface of said first elastic band comprises asecond decorative design; wherein said first surface of said secondelastic band comprises a third decorative design and said second surfaceof said second elastic band comprises a fourth decorative design;wherein each said first elastic band and said second elastic bandcomprise a first portion positioned under the hem of the legging and asecond portion extending below the hem of the legging; wherein each saidsecond portion is turned inside out to expose an initial inner surfaceportion to an outer surface portion; and further wherein said seconddecorative design is the same as said fourth decorative design.
 19. Thelegging clothing accessory of claim 18, wherein said first decorativedesign is the same as said third decorative design.
 20. The leggingclothing accessory of claim 18, wherein said first elastic band and saidsecond elastic band comprise a height from about 2 inches to about 8inches.